Greatest Barrier To Augmented & Virtual Realities Are The Apps And Accessories

Consumers most interested in AR & VR content from film companies

Most interested in AR & VR ads from holiday companies

Consumers say the need for additional software, apps and hardware is the greatest barrier preventing them from experiencing virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) digital advertisements, according to new research from insperience marketing experts, Vibrant Media. The research – which assessed opinions on VR and AR from over 3000 consumers from the United States, United Kingdom and Germany – found that not knowing where to find VR and AR ads, and concerns that such ads might use up their mobile internet data allowance were identified as the second and third most likely barrier.

“Content providers that require additional hardware to view content will only ever appeal to very niche audiences or on very niche occasions. The 3D TV market shows that simply requiring a pair of special specs was a huge barrier to adoption. VR and AR creatives in both the content and advertising sectors need to learn these lessons quickly or both consumers and brands will miss out on the benefits of immersive digital content. The VR and AR ads that achieve optimum scale and impact are both app-free and accessory-free, and are distributed natively from within the trusted, contextually-relevant and brand safe content consumers access via mobile browsers.”Craig Gooding, CEO and Founder of Vibrant Media said, “As the numerous publications that launched and then ditched content apps will tell you, the most important content app on every consumer’s mobile phone is the web browser. Requiring specific apps in addition to a mobile browser to experience VR & AR content is an insurmountable barrier for the majority of consumers, decimating the scale that such creative advertising can achieve. That lack of scale is likely to be one of the reasons so many consumers told the Vibrant Media research team that they didn’t know where to find VR and AR ads. Although 34.4 per cent of respondents have experienced 360 online video, just 15.4 per cent have experienced an advertisement in VR, and just 10.4 per cent have experienced an ad in AR.”

“That said, VR and AR app and hardware creators may want to look at the market for accessories to help consumers to generate their own immersive content. We’re already seeing demand for such content in consumers’ creation and distribution of 360 video and images on social media. 78 per cent of consumers who have experienced digital 360 degree video experiences rated them as either good or very good. Our own Vibrant 360°/VR insperiences attain 600 per cent higher interaction rates, 700 per cent higher content recall, 2700 per cent higher brand recall and 200 per cent more product intent compared to standard 2D video ad experiences. However, it’s still surprising that consumers ranked friends’ and family as their third most preferred source as creators of VR and AR content.”

Such high demand for user-generated VR and AR content was not the only surprise for Vibrant’s research team: there is a contrast in consumers’ levels of interest in receiving advertising as opposed to content from digital entertainment companies. Consumers are most interested in receiving VR and AR content experiences from film makers and cinema companies, followed by on demand digital entertainment companies, such as Netflix and Amazon Prime. The computer games industry comes fourth after user-generated VR and AR content.

However, when asked to consider advertising rather than content experiences from different sectors, consumers showed far stronger preference for VR and AR ads from holiday & travel companies, events and exhibitions, the property sector, and the automobile industry than from the digital entertainment industries.

“We know our own VR and AR insperience ad formats achieve extremely high levels of engagement. That’s partly because they’re user-initiated, they don’t require apps or hardware to view them, they’re LEAN, and because we place them natively within contextually relevant digital content that consumers trust. However, they’re also very entertaining. Hence we expected consumers would be more interested in ads from entertainment companies than other sectors. However, our researchers seem to have uncovered a surprising prioritization of factual and functional advertising when choosing to view VR and AR ad creative. The demand for a range of immersive try-before-you-buy ads seems to be highest for products and services that require consumers to leave their regular real world environments – so holiday destinations, events and property viewings – and for high-value items, such as real estate purchases and vehicles. Consumers’ preference for facts and function from VR and AR ads doesn’t absolve creative teams from being entertaining, of course. Advertisers have to provide immersive and in-depth info in an entertaining manner,” said Vibrant Media’s Craig Gooding.

Vibrant Media’s VR and AR ‘Insperiences’ are app-free, immersive brand communications. They transform consumers from passive viewers into active participants using either VR or AR technology. Insperiences prioritize interactivity, personalization, creativity, contextual targeting and measurable scale to powerfully connect brands with people. They are all user-initiated from triggers placed natively within editorial text and images as either a logo, an image or a double-underlined hyperlink. They are distributed across contextually-relevant, brand safe content of 6600 premium publishers, reaching up to 450 million unique users per month targeted based on intelligence, insight and their interests.

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Notes To Editors

Raw data tables and country specific statistics for the USA, United Kingdom and Germany are available upon request.

Research conducted by Vibrant Media’s research department and third party digital survey supplier. 3000 people were surveyed, 1000 people from each of the United States of America, United Kingdom and Germany.

About Vibrant Media

Formed in 2000, Vibrant Media is the original native advertising platform. Vibrant connects consumers in real time with engaging content and brand experiences cross-platform. Delivered directly off of words, images & video within a premium native environment, Vibrant’s solutions are designed to be viewable, relevant and engaging. With over 6,600 premium publishers, reaching more than 450 million unique users per month, Vibrant delivers native advertising at scale. Vibrant works with top brand advertisers such as Microsoft, Unilever, Chrysler and AT&T. The company was founded in 2000 and has offices in New York, Toronto, San Francisco, Detroit, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, London, Hamburg, Munich and Dusseldorf. For more information about Vibrant, please visit www.vibrantmedia.com , http://www.vibrantmedia.com/news/vibrant-news/, www.facebook.com/vibrantmedia or www.twitter.com/vibrantmedia. Vibrant’s blog with insights on the digital marketing industry can be found at https://www.vibrantmedia.com/news/vibrant-blog/